Current Facilities:
Boroondara Netball Centre, Macleay Park, North Balwyn > click here
- 8 outdoor synpave courts
- 3 courts with lighting
- Pavilion
Needs & Gap Analysis:
BNA & Netball Victoria have submitted extensive data to Council Officers which indisputably supports the demand for additional netball facilities at the Boroondara Netball Centre.
Click here for a summary of the DEMAND & current LIMITATIONS
Required Facilities:
ADDITIONAL COURTS ie) expanding footprint
- Max 4 courts
- 3 courts possible with minimum impact on surrounding ovals, at the far (North West) end of the venue
- Additional courts must be at one venue, not satellite, due to
- Logistics relating to multiple roles of individual participants over the day eg) player, coach, umpire
- Parents with multiple children participating
- Length of games only 40 mins
- Competition & club administration
- Camaraderie
The Boroondara Netball Association is the sole provider of Netball Victoria pathway programs in this LGA, covering all aspects of the sport including player, coach, umpire and administrator development. In order to provide these pathway programs & opportunities, it is imperative that the facility is situated at the one location – many netballers have multiple roles over the day. They will not only play their game but also coach a number of junior teams, umpire a few games, train umpires/ coaches and attend on-site workshops under the supervision & guidance of our trained mentors. This is what differentiates a Netball Association offering pathway programs from a simple netball Competition.
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COURT LIGHTING
- Only 3 of 8 courts are currently lit Note: NO LIGHTING on additional courts would be required
- Main issue = child safety
- Venue used until dusk for club /school training
- Outdoor night competitions NOT a priority > this is a resident fear but there is very little demand for night competitions which are outdoor
- Current Licence agreement defines hours of use
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TRAFFIC FLOW & PARKING
- Original Feasibility studies catered for netball as the single winter tenant - small overlap with cricket
- now soccer ++, scout hall users = boxing etc, playground users (improved playground facilities)
- Significant safety issue & impact on local residents
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Funding:
Media release -$1.2million for new netball courts
- This funding must be spent before June 2021.
- “the grant cannot be changed or auspice swapped without the approval of the original grantee”
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BNA is financially secure thanks to sound, responsible financial management practices and volunteer administration. We have our own significant funds saved specifically for the provision of “facilities and asset investment”
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Demand
Currently the venue is at capacity
- every afternoon for club training, school groups, GSV, SSV
- Friday afterooon for Junior Development Program - years 2 - 4
- Saturdays for domestic competition
- Sundays for coach / umpire clinics + general public use +++
As the 3rd largest Netball Association in Victoria, our venue should be suitable for Netball Victoria events such as tournaments, Association Championships.
Saturday Competition
Membership
- Membership is static. We are unable to advertise / promote due to lack of court space, cannot accommodate new members ie) siblings
- Male inclusion is currently a NV priority but we cannot accomodate.
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Increased number of BYES
- All teams have byes - the number depends on the maximum number of courts available in a day = 8 x 13 rounds = 104 = 208 teams maximum per Saturday .
- The more teams we have, the more byes we must create throughout the season to accommodate all teams with available court space
- To avoid some byes, we place 2 teams from the one school into the same section. We can then fixture their games to be played at their schools during the week .
- This is not ideal, as there is no umpire support, quality control, Saturday netball camaraderie / interaction; and is a significant burden on the school clubs.
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Reduce length of games
- Quarters are now down to 9 minutes from 10 mins < 12 mins < 15 mins giving us an extra round (8 matches/week).
- Players therefore play additional games in other municipalities to increase their court time
- A full senior game should be 4 x 15min quarters
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Time between rounds
- There is no time in between matches allowing umpires to recover and venue to be cleared ie) transition time / traffic flow.
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Warm Up
- There is no warm up court available all day - each round, 160 players warm up on the small overflow area next to the pavilion
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Move Junior Sections
- Most competitions run their junior development programs on Sat mornings but we have had to move our grade 1 - 4 to Fridays to save court space.
- This means we lose junior players to other associations as kids have so many other school activities during the week
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Zoning
- In future, another option will be to ZONE teams / players, thereby excluding those living outside the zone from our competition.
- This is not considered to be in the spirit of community sporting organisations
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BNA Club Training:
Currently only 4 clubs - Ruyton, Kew District, Mont Albert, Canterbury - are able to use our courts to train due to lack of available court space
- Camberwell South have 14 teams training on 2 courts at C'Well Sth primary school (130+ players)
- Fintona have 11 teams training on 1 court at Fintona (100+ Players)
- Genazzano have 44 teams training on only 4 courts at Genazzano (400+ players)
- Koonung Heights have 18 teams training on 2 courts at Balwyn High School (170+ players)
- MLC Stars have 25 teams training on 2 courts at MLC (230+ players)
Mid-Week Demand
There is very limited demand for midweek competitions played on OUTDOORS courts.
- A strong sustainable competition requires the inbuilt workforce (predominantly volunteers) available to support the competition.
- As our primary focus and holistic pathway opportunities are available with the main Saturday competition, additional midweek programs / competitions need to be complementary and not in competition with the Saturday programs.
- Mid-week we are "competing" with compulsory school netball competitions, including GSV. With the additional courts, competitions such as GSV could be held locally at Macleay Park. Current schools who participate in our competition are extremely supportive of this opportunity.
- There is scope for other types of mid-week programs/ competitions as per our strategic plan ie) Boys/men, Rock Up Netball, All Abilities, Walking Netball
Therefore the priority is for more courts at the same venue, lights or no lights.
Local School Demand
- Schools competitions will finish no later than 5.30pm, usually 5pm, so they can be bussed back to school for pick up.
- Some schools have curfews for on-campus students (boarders) restricting availability for school competitions / training after hours.
- There are 35,000 school students attending schools in the Kooyong district alone (55 schools).
GSV = Girls Sport Victoria
BNA has 7 school clubs - MLC, CGGS, Ruyton, Strathcona, Fintona, Genazzano and MGGS - involved in GSV
- Seniors (Yr 11 & 12) = Play Monday competition
- Intermediates (Yr 9 & 10) = Play Wednesday competition
- Juniors (Yr 7 & 8) = PlayThursday competition
Venues for GSV are grossly inadequate with schools having to travel to Dingley, Waverley, Springvale for weekly competition. Also, the number of teams schools are able to enter the competition are dependant on the number of courts they have available to them. GSV games are now reduced to 8 minute quarters due to lack of facilities
APS = Associated Public Schools of Victoria
- Carey hire our courts twice weekly for training > they ideally requested 12 courts but use 8 courts 2 afternoons per week
- APS matches are played on Saturday mornings at the various schools so are not relevant to the BNC
SSV = School Sport Victoria
- Competition is played during school hours.
- Therefore we are able to cater for the Boroondara Division throughout terms 2 and 3